Wednesday, May 8, 2013

George Souliotes: District Attorney's decision to retry him on arson charges discredited by modern science called "outrageous and shameful." (I couldn't agree more! Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog).

POST: "A California witch hunt continues," by Paul Bieber, published by the Arson Project on May 7, 2013. (Paul Bieber is the founder and director of The Arson Research Project. He is a Criminal Investigator specializing
in indigent defense investigations and a member of the investigator’s
panel of the San Mateo County, California, Private Defenders Program
where his assignments range from misdemeanors to complex felonies. Mr. Bieber is also a certified fire and explosion investigator (CFEI) and has
nine years of investigative experience with a concentration in fire
cause and origin, death scene, and insurance fraud investigations, and
an additional 15 years in fire suppression as a firefighter and
paramedic.)

GIST: "In an outrageous and shameful decision, the Stanislaus County,
California, District Attorney Birgit Fladager announced yesterday that
her office intends to re-try George Souliotes on charges of arson and
murder. ........Which brings us to yesterday’s announcement by the Stanislaus County
DA to retry the case. Considering that every piece of evidence to
suggest Souliotes’ guilt has been undermined and shown to be
scientifically unreliable or patently outrageous (Federal evidentiary
hearing decision with a detailed review of the evidence can be found here) the
only reasonable evaluation of the decision by local prosecutors to seek
a retrial is this: delay an innocent man’s release from prison long
enough for the state attorney general’s office to appeal Judge Ishii’s decision; then continue to delay, postpone and obfuscate with the hope
that Souliotes, now 72 years old and in poor health, will die in prison
along with his demands for freedom. Two things remain clear in this painful case: First, George Souliotes
was wrongfully convicted of arson. Second, state and local prosecutors
will do anything in their power not to admit it.
The entire post can be found at:

I
have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses
several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of
the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this
powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and
myself get more out of the site.The
Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible
years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr.
Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of
Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"
section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It
can be found at:http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmithInformation on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.htmlPlease send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to:hlevy15@gmail.comHarold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

About Me

My interest in forensic pathology began with my Toronto Star investigative reporting into once famed since disgraced former doctor Charles Smith. I began this Blog after retiring from the Star in 2006 in order to follow the aftermath into the independent Goudge inquiry into many of Smith's cases. I have now begun to focus on cases involving flawed forensic science no matter where they occur (the recent Amanda Knox prosecution in Italy, for example) and am fascinated by the interest in the Blog from people in countries throughout the world. In another development, my interest in "junk science" "pseudo-experts" and the miscarriages of justice they all too often cause has drawn me deeply into the on-going U.S. death penalty debate where so many troubling cases involve issues relating to DNA and other developments in the world of forensic science. For all of this I rely on my experience as a reporter at the Toronto Star, my work as a lawyer in Ontario's criminal courts, and my abhorrence of injustice. Please send cases and developments which may be of interest to this Blog to hlevy15@gmail.com. Read on! Harold Levy.